All I want for Christmas is ...

DOORS!

It has been five years since the weeHouse arrived at Loveless via flatbed truck, providing the centerpiece of this wild-and-wacky adventure to build a modern lake home. The beautiful, light-filled weeHouse arrived complete with an Ikea kitchen, bamboo floors and living area. Meanwhile, the lower level -- with two bedrooms and a bathroom -- has been a construction zone of drywall dust and clutter.

But local builder Brook Waalen and his team have been busy little elves this December. When I arrived yesterday for a holiday visit, this gift of doors and trim awaited me. In one fell swoop the downstairs has gone from perpetual Glamping Mode into something that seems, well, civilized. My goal to pull this project across the finish line in 2017 suddenly seems within reach.

Merry, merry!

Heave-ho

The Loveless To-do List is long and my yearning to get through it is strong. Fortunately I've got friends with shovels!

Bandmate Steve and his industrious wife, Terry, didn't let the threat of rain stand in the way of a non-stop weekend of work at my not-quite-ready-for-prime-time lake place. In short order, we made quick work of a sand pile I'd been staring at for more than two years (gulp), though Chris has been winnowing it down bucket-by-bucket.

Then the boys took to the task of repairing the dock. We had clumsily pieced one together a few years back using sections still hanging around from when I bought the troubled property in 2010. After a couple of winters in the water, the old dock had taken a beating. Chris and Steve pulled it apart and reassembled it to make it even better than before. 

Steve used the morning to ward off a potential hangover after a wine-filled evening at the fire pit the night before. He hauled big rocks down Stairmaster Hill while the rest of us -- Chris, Terry and friends Sharyn and Laryssa -- sipped coffee and Bloody Marys from the upper deck. The result is a masterpiece of a landing to the "new" dock.

Sharyn and Laryssa were troopers who spent a night on the concrete floor, as my camping mattress slowly lost loft due to some unknown leak. The gals had arrived at Loveless ready for adventure and loaded with treats -- freshly made guacamole, cauliflower hummus, ginger brew and more.

They were able to squeeze in a short walk and canoe ride, which made me happy beyond belief. So happy, it seems, I forgot to take photos. Next time, ladies!

Twisted and torqued after a few winters in Loveless.

The first step of rebuilding? Disassemble.

As raindrops kept falling on their heads.

As Mick Jagger said: Success, success, success!

A winning team.

Springtime in sweaters

Though the photo doesn't show it, we had a sunny-for-a-spell day at Loveless and temps touched 70-degrees. The perfect day for my pals Ramona and Margie to drive up for afternoon hors d'oeuvres on the OSHA-unsafe deck and a light dinner.

The last time Ramona and Margie were here, October 2012, we had just built the Saturn Walkway. There was no furniture, no tile in the bathroom and the drywall project had just begun. Their visit was a nice way to mark some progress and take note of the first sprouts of woodland flowers, now that the green wave of spring is beginning to wash across the North Country.

Ice out, where are the fish?

I don't have the official ice-out date, but it's smooth sailin' at Loveless Lake. Chris wasted no time trying to roust out some bass from their winter slumber. No luck on that front, but it's nice to have a whiff of spring to give us weary Midwesterners a sense of hope again. At least until the next snow sprinkle. Tomorrow.

A toast

We made a little birthday toast to the absent Chipper a few weeks back. Then this Snoopy image floated across my Twitter feed. So I'm doing a sappy little posting here. Just because.

Still Life with Woodpecker

This birch tree's days are surely numbered, but hopefully not before we have a chance to watch the unfolding of this pileated woodpecker's handiwork. A male has been hard at work excavating this handsome roost. Perhaps he already has attracted a mate and they'll do their part to bring a little love 2 Loveless.

The woodpeckers (redheaded, of course) abandon their nests once the brood is raised. But songbirds -- and even owls and tree-nesting ducks -- often move in and enjoy the space. We can only hope.

The lake may be frozen, but spring is in the air!

Above the fold

It was only a matter of time before the Beer Man garnered fame (though not yet fortune) for his zany antics at the Balsam Lake WinterFest. Here he is striking a pose in the Inter-County Leader. I can only claim reflected glory, though my new winter hat is a stunner in its own right.

He's a winner

Here's lookin' at ya, No. 27.

Talk about being game. My youngest brother, Russell, took me up on a long-shot of an invitation to visit the Midwest in the dead of winter to partake in the Balsam Lake WinterFest and annual Chinese New Year festivities, which this year happened to fall on the same weekend.

Russell and our father did business in China for a number of years -- selling U.S.-grown Southern Pine lumber to the Chinese. He's been studying Mandarin, and I've been trying for years to get him up here to meet my Chinese friends, who always put on a stellar Lunar New Year feast.

Temps were in the teens and low 20s when Russell set out for his maiden voyage on snowshoes for the increasingly popular 5K Snowshoe "race." Sometime after passing Mile Marker 1, Russell decided to sprint ahead, clearly tapping into his former college football athletic self. Chris and I eventually caught up, realizing he had intuitively discovered our secret of North Country survival: Breaking a sweat in the coldest of cold gives you the (false) impression that you're kicking winter's ass.

Russ was a true sport in everything Loveless. He put up with drywall dust, lack of a bathroom and a furnace that broke just as temps were heading toward a week of sub-zeros. 

Here's hoping we didn't scare him off and that he'll return with his lovely wife when we're no longer in glamping mode.

 

Getting an ice fishing lesson from the master.

Jaguars fan (note the ski cap) from the very start.

Mighty fine fishin' hole. Alas, no bites.

Some Loveless winter lover made a snowman on the lake!

Scenic photo opp during the "race."

That crazy Beer Man.

Trusting the ice...

... even though they raced ATVs instead of trucks this year.

This photo begs for a Caption Contest.

No trip to Loveless is complete without a functional fire.

 

Loveless Lake is humble, but she's a beaut.

Old school

I may be building a modern lake house but waterfront activities are of the non-motorized variety, centered around hand-me-downs (canoe) and church bag sales (auger). Chris grew up ice fishing, and this year he's been eager beaver to get onto Loveless Lake. I'm more attracted to the notion of ice fishing than the actual sitting there and staring into the hole. But I probably just need to catch a fish. 

Chris easily shucks his gloves to spear a minnow, but I dread the idea of sticking my hand into the icy bucket and forcing a hook through a squirmy little fish. How lucky am I to have my own fishing guide on hand to do all of the hard work?

Experimenting with lawn chairs -- too chilly.

I'm with Handsome

Hard to remember that the North Country had a really slow start to winter. Not that we were complaining about the warm, sunny days and lack of snow. Then a few weeks ago, one of those arctic blasts arrived. Suddenly, Helloooo winter!

We celebrated with a tromp on Loveless Lake on snowshoes. As long as I've known Chris, he has complained about winter.  Swears this will be his last. Those damn dark days, lack of light, lack of energy, you get the drift.

But here he is again, bless that big ole Scandinavian  heart of his. Winter is better with a Handsome Handyman around.
   

Phase II underway

While I was in Florida helping my brothers guide our dying mother out of this life, Loveless was under construction.

The timing was all wrong to be sure. But when the builder appears, the client better be ready. Or be ready to wait. So off we went in June on the stair tower + loft project. The goal was to be finished by August.

Well… this, too, has been on Loveless Time.

As of last weekend, the stairs have been framed in, 90 percent of the drywall is done and primed, and most of the wood flooring has been installed. Home stretch, baby.

Builder Brook Waalen is a gem. He understands my vision, has solved unexpected problems (hence the delayed timeline) and been patient with all my waffling and changes.

Sure it’s a bit whacked to be working on Phase II when there’s still no shower or bathroom sink. And there’s a boatload of drywall still to do in the bedrooms. But I’m so overjoyed to have the ability to move from the upstairs to the downstairs -- without running outside and up a snow-covered hill -- that it’s easy to be patient. Plus, the project has opened up the weeHouse and let in even more natural light.

“I really like the skyscraper,” said neighbor Scott, tapping into my continued mortification about how TALL this whole thing is.

Yet, I totally agree. Chris and I can't wait to hang out in the loft, which truly is in the treetops.

View from the weeHouse kitchen.

Blends into the trees.

Siding will get put up in the spring.